Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, ADNEC, has announced its partnership with Development Counsellors International, DCI, a firm specialising in economic development and tourism marketing, based in New York City, to promote ADNEC's venues and facilities in the US and Canada.

The partnership is aligned with ADNEC's ongoing efforts to enhance Abu Dhabi's reputation as a major hub for business tourism. It will allow ADNEC to attract more international associations and event organisers from key North American markets, including the US and Canada, to host their international events and congresses by utilising ADNEC's state-of-the-art facilities.

Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Acting Group CEO at ADNEC, said, "We are delighted to tie up with DCI who have a long-standing track record of marketing and selling destinations and convention venues to planners of association, corporate and incentive programmes based in North American markets. Such collaborations will support our new business strategy designed to increase the share of the specialised conferences sector in our overall commercial business by attracting more international conferences and congresses to Abu Dhabi."

Al Dhaheri added, "At ADNEC, we are committed to positioning Abu Dhabi as a global business tourism destination and increasing the economic impact of the sector on the economy of Abu Dhabi through developing effective destination marketing plans in collaboration with the best industry partners. We are confident that this new development will go a long way towards generating new sales leads for ADNEC in the conference and association sector by promoting Abu Dhabi to global meeting planners and influencing their site selection decisions."

Karyl Leigh Barnes, Managing Partner, at DCI said, "With nearly three out of four North American-based associations interested in potentially organising a convention in the Arabian Gulf area and more than 50% of planners looking to create regional membership in the Middle East, we are thrilled to partner with ADNEC to capture a share of the emerging demand. Our experienced sales team is committed to developing the most qualified business leads for ADNEC."

ADNEC offers 133,000 sq.m. of inter-connected floor space to match the expectations of a wide variety of events and exhibitions. Equipped with modern facilities and built to international standards, the venue attracted 1.6 million people across 327 events in 2014.